In 1967, Dian Fossey moved to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to begin her mountain gorilla research. Conflict forced her to move over the border to Rwanda, where she spent 18 years studying gorillas, battling poachers, and transforming conservation.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT I.M. CAMPBELL, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

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Pucker Puss and Coco were taken from their families to be sold to Cologne Zoological Gardens. In poor health, they were first brought to Fossey for care. When they recovered, they were transported to the zoo despite her objections.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT I.M. CAMPBELL, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

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Fossey kept meticulous notes on each gorilla's health, relationships, and activities. In 1972, she noticed that her favorite gorilla, Digit, had started to approach her for playtime. “Now he walks forward directly, may give a small twirl, and then rolls over onto his back, kicking his legs up into the air and wearing a rather ridiculous 'grin' expression,” she wrote.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT I.M. CAMPBELL, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

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The gorilla habitat was rife with poachers and other locals who used the park for illicit purposes. Fossey made it her crusade to stop them. These herders may have been grazing their cows within the park's confines.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ALAN ROOT, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

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Fossey's active, hands-on approach to conservation changed how the endangered primates were seen and treated.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT I.M. CAMPBELL, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

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Each gorilla family had an assigned number for research purposes. Here, an observant Fossey watches Rafiki, the silverback of group 8.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT I.M. CAMPBELL, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

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The perception of gorillas as violent and savage was widespread when Fossey began to study them. She aimed to change that image and succeeded through media attention, including from National Geographic.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT I.M. CAMPBELL, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

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Fossey plays with Pucker Puss and Coco. Twenty adult gorillas in their family were killed in order to capture the two infants.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT I.M. CAMPBELL, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

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After imitating gorilla actions and habits, like feeding and grooming, Fossey was largely accepted by the gorillas she studied. "The gorillas have responded favourably, although admittedly these methods are not always digni?ed," she wrote in National Geographic.
PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER G. VEIT, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

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Dian Fossey takes notes while a gorilla named Peanuts approaches her through the jungle.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT I.M. CAMPBELL, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

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Researchers coming to Karisoke, the field station she set up in Volcanoes National Park, found Fossey a surly host.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT I.M. CAMPBELL, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

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The door of Fossey's home led into the jungle of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, then one of the poorest countries in Africa.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ALAN ROOT, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

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Fossey kept a collection of gorilla bones and skulls for research, and sent some to the Smithsonian. Although she didn't begin her work with formal academic training, she later got a PhD at the University of Cambridge.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT I.M. CAMPBELL, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

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Fossey lived a life of solitude in the forest until her death in 1985. According to a Vanity Fair profile, she became known in Rwanda as Nyiramacibili, the Woman Who Lives Alone in the Forest.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT I.M. CAMPBELL, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE

The Renegade Scientist Who Taught Us to Love Gorillas

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